The Fear in Her Eyes
by EnchantHollow
Summary: The Huntsman doesn't understand this girl at first; what can she have seen to warrant such a look on her face? Then he sees the way the Queen's brother looks at her and he begins to understand. It only gets worse from there, and he never again wants to see that fear in her eyes.


The Fear in Her Eyes

Chapter 1

_A.N. Greetings to all! I know it's been forever and a day, and I have old stories I need to be working on, but this dug into my brain and wouldn't let go. There is so little fanfiction for this movie as it is, and I wanted to add something to it. I hope you enjoy this, and as always, read and review!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Snow White and the Huntsman_, obviously._

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Snow clasped the cold nail tightly in her sweaty palm as she heard her cell door open. Her heart raced as she listened to the Queen's brother's footsteps growing closer. Hundreds of sleepless nights listening to his heavy breathing outside her door and feeling his eyes on her echoed through her mind. He sat on her tiny cot, and she gripped her measly weapon tighter, not sure what to expect but fearing it all the same. She tried to put him at ease with a sleepy demeanor and her reassurances that she didn't fear him, but she could taste the lie of it on her tongue as he leaned over her. His declaration that the Queen wanted her beating heart was terrifying, but more immediately so was what she saw in his eyes as he invaded her space and fingered the neckline of her tattered dress.

Then, all at once, his cold lips were crushed against hers and his hand was slipping beneath her bodice, grasping harshly at her skin. For a moment, her mind went blank with panic, as first experiences were stolen away and touches she had never felt before were poisoned by violence. She was frozen with horror and burning with disgust, the dichotomy of it almost too much to process. Finally, a few moments of eternity later, a pain in her palm drew her attention. As she opened her fist slightly, she recalled the nail in her hand and used it to throw Finn off of her. She was shaking, and tears were running down her cheeks, but she ran from her cell and locked the door nonetheless, wanting more than ever to leave this dark and dismal place.

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The Huntsman swallowed his irritation at the incompetents following him. They were making such a racket that if that prisoner girl wasn't dead yet, she would surely be running in the opposite direction by now, warned by the obnoxious noise. As yet another branch cracked behind him, he huffed a sigh and turned.

"Stay here," he ordered sharply, wishing yet again that he had not agreed to this. What were the odds that the witch would keep her promise? Was it worth this idiocy? But he couldn't quell his inner surety that any chance was worth it, any price to be paid small compensation. No matter that his wife would hate the idea of giving a young girl over to the Queen, or sacrificing any life for her own, for that matter. He had failed her once; he would not do so again.

After a few moments' walk, he came to an indent in the dirt, still warm with the body heat of the girl who had been lying there. Knowing he was close, he motioned again to his pursuers to stay back, and he began to creep around a large tree. Soon enough, his suspicions were confirmed, and he grabbed the arm of the girl cowering beneath said tree.

She screamed for a second, terror on her face, but as soon as a lack of recognition dawned, she ceased struggling and begged for help. This confused Eric; where had this girl been, that she expected kindness from strangers and did not fear a large man she did not know? The state of the kingdom was not one that would encourage such behavior. He wondered again what the queen wanted with this chit.

"Quick work," came an oily voice from behind him. Suddenly, the calm from before was gone, replaced by wild panic as the girl nearly ripped her own arm out of its socket in an effort to escape. She even went so far as to attempt to hide behind his form. Her whimpered warnings had little effect on him, but the fear in her eyes knocked something loose in him, and he found himself, almost against his will, asking what the man wanted with her. The Queen's brother refused to answer him, and that only reinforced Eric's idea that something was wrong here, more wrong than just the Queen's will being done. The way the man's eyes moved over Eric's captive was disconcerting, too, as were the girl's sudden changes of emotion, although he couldn't quite place any of it.

All of this was lost, however, as Finn destroyed Eric's hope of reuniting with his beloved; all thoughts of the girl and her eyes fled his mind as he roared his fury and loss. After striking out at Finn in rage, he turned his attention to the other guards, ready to slay all in his path. He assumed Finn to be dead or disabled by the blow to the throat, and his frenzy blotted out rationality and care. He could have been killed in that moment and only have been glad for the chance to reunite with his wife. His axes flashed in the dim light, crimson with blood, as he kicked a man in the chest and sent him flying.

The Huntsman turned to face his next foe, only to be met by an empty clearing. He looked for Finn, finally thinking to discern if the man lived, but to his surprise, the blonde was nowhere in sight. Then he heard a scream, and without his consent, his legs began moving in a swift run.

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The princess tried to hide behind the stranger who had caught her. She knew better than to trust him, but her body quaked at the memory of Finn in her cell, and she found herself edging closer to this bear of a man. She sought protection, though he had offered none. Perhaps this was because she remembered Finn's eyes as he had leaned over her, and when she compared that to the look in this man's eyes as he had dragged her from her hiding place, she found him the safer option. His hand on her arm was confining, but he was making no effort to hurt her, and neither his hands nor his gaze had wandered. Even as he put an axe to her throat, she considered that she would rather die now than go back into the clutches of the Queen's brother, who was staring at her from across the clearing. Some calmer part of her mind noted that he did not possess the large cut she had left him with, but the rage she had created with it was still very much present.

Suddenly, she was thrown to the ground, away from Finn, and she didn't hesitate to run. This time, there was no Greta to attempt to rescue, but also no sewer to escape into. The only birds here were the ones she had seen, or perhaps hallucinated, dead and rotting, and those poor creatures could provide no aid. Snow tried to quiet her panting as she rushed through the trees, and she resisted the urge to look behind her. In her panic, she was looking ahead for a path to escape, and she therefore missed the root rising up from the ground in front of her. She went sprawling as her breath escaped in a whoosh and her ankle began to throb sharply. When she tried to rise to her knees and crawl forward, a hand closed around the injured ankle and yanked, sending bolts of agony up her leg. Her heart pounding, she rolled to see her captor, hoping it would be the man from before, but instead coming face to face with Finn once more. She screamed.

Before she could do more than scrambled backward a bit, Finn had grabbed her by the throat and pinned her to the dirt. She could distantly feel that cursed root digging into her calf, her left arm being bent and crushed under her, and jagged rocks piercing her back, but most of her focus was on her fear and her inability to breathe. Her free hand rose up to attempt to scratch at his eyes with her fingernails, but he anticipated this repeated trick and trapped her wrist with his other hand, bringing it down beside her head as he used his body weight to restrain her legs.

"Not so brave now, are we, princess?" He demanded, his foul breath washing over her face. "My sister blames me for your escape, you know. But this time, you're not going anywhere. You will not make a fool of me again."

In lieu of a response, she attempted to drive her knee into his groin, just as one of Ravenna's victims had instructed her on the night before she was taken to see the Queen and never returned. The warning and lesson to the princess had come after one of Finn's many visits to watch her at night. Finn seemed unaffected by this trick, however, merely pressing his hips down harder to keep her in place and tightening his grip on her throat.

"Now, now, that's not very polite of you. You don't want to make me angry; my sister needs your heart to be beating, but she didn't specify anything about the condition of the rest of you."

Black spots danced across her vision, which had begun to blur. This was almost a relief, as Snow wouldn't have to see that look in his eyes any longer. Then, just as she was sure the world would go dark, he released her throat and began grasping at the front of her dress. She felt the shoulders sliding down, as they had done many times in the past, but this felt far different. As she heard the bodice begin to rip, she let out another scream and began silent prayers for rescue, far more immediate than the ones of the past. Perhaps in answer, Finn freed her hand to better attack her dress. As she regained feeling, she punched him viciously in the jaw. He reeled, but his weight still rested on her, preventing her escape. She lifted her legs, attempting to unseat him, but he only swayed slightly. Despair nearly swamped her, but then there was a loud crack, and Finn collapsed forward onto her, going limp. With immense effort and the strength of terror, she heaved him off of her, and then the tears finally came.

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Eric slid to a stop, panting, and nearly vomited at the sight before him, although the copious quantities of alcohol he had consumed earlier might have had something to do with that as well. The Queen's brother was atop the slight girl he had been sent to capture, and his intentions were obvious. As Eric watched, the blonde man began tearing at her bodice with both hands, cursing under his breath and muttering threats. Eric started forward with violent intentions, but he was forced to pause when the girl, or perhaps woman, judging by Finn's response to her, threw a hearty punch and then nearly threw him off with her legs. He remained in place, however, and the Huntsman shook off his shock, taking another step forward and swinging the hilt of his axe at the man's head.

It connected, and Finn toppled. Eric winced as he realized that he had just catapulted assaulter onto assaultee, but he saw with some amazement that she was levering him off of her without help. Part of him wanted to congratulate her on her strength and bravery, which reminded him somewhat of Sarah, but as he opened his mouth, she burst into tears. Now he noticed the way her form was trembling and the bruises beginning to form on her pale skin. In the back of his mind, he began to understand the strange standoff with Finn and her reactions to them both. Unsure of what else to do, he knelt before her, but she scuttled back and met his gaze her tearful eyes. Even as he acknowledged her beauty and her pain, he was again struck dumb and motionless by the fear in her eyes.

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_A.N. Well, that's it for this time. I have more planned, but it's all pretty vague. I'll do what I can, but we all know what a busy time of year this is. In any case, bonne chance, mon amis!_


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